Getting your content in front of leads is easier than ever. But when you do, what do you need to consider? This article outlines the 5 steps to create a fitness sales funnel for your fitness business. Here’s a quick look at how to lay out your sales funnel:
- Opt-in and Engage: When leads opt-in, deliver 3-5 days worth of content to answer their most pressing questions
- Social Proof: Deliver 2-3 days of case studies to prove your solution works
- Front-End Offer: Offer your FEO over 3-5 days
- Make it Great: Create a great experience for the lead while in your FEO
- Make an Offer: Present the offer to join your program at the end of their FEO
What is a Fitness Sales Funnel?
Creating a fitness sales funnel that converts leads into clients doesn’t have to be overwhelming. In fact, you can build it relatively quickly if you understand the psychology of sales and know where to find your ideal client. It’s easier than ever to get your message in front of new leads. You can reach people via social media, email, your blog, written marketing materials, webinars, and several other sources. Plus, with the prevalence of smartphones, people are consuming more information than ever. So, when you do get your content in front of people, what happens next? What should you be talking about? What is the best way to continue to capture their attention and gain their trust? That’s where a Fitness Sales Funnel comes into play.
Why You Need a Fitness Sales Funnel
A common mistake that inexperienced marketers make is that they jump immediately to selling before they have built trust with their prospects. That’s like asking someone to marry you on a first date. Most people would agree, that’s not a great idea. Similarly, not ALL of your leads are going to be ready to buy right away. Sure, you may have some “buyer” personalities that convert quickly, but you don’t want to completely lose the folks that may need a little additional nurturing. Not all of your leads are going to be ready to buy right away. If you can spend a bit of time building value, showing them you understand their struggles, and giving them a chance to start working with you for a small commitment—you’ll convert more leads overall. Your fitness sales funnel should nurture leads and provide an opportunity to connect with them throughout their experience. Any fit pro can (and should) set up a fitness sales funnel! Here’s how you do it…
How to Create Compelling Content
You’ve probably heard the term “awareness” when it comes to marketing. It’s critical to help people understand what you think/know they need to understand. There are 3 stages of awareness in marketing:
- Problem Education: This is where you help prospects understand the problem they are trying to overcome.
- Solution Research: This is where the prospect is trying to find a solution for the problem you have made them aware of.
- Solution Selection: This is where prospects are ready to choose a program to help them with their problem.
You need to be creating content that all of your new leads see that handle the problem education and solution research phase of awareness. The easiest way to do this is to create a list of the top 3-5 questions or frustrations that your ideal client faces before finding you as a solution. Once you have these identified you can create content to help them answer their questions or overcome their frustrations. The content you create can be videos, blog posts or articles that you post to your website. One of my favorite ways to leverage my content is to use mediums that can be duplicated. For example I can film a video, get it transcribed and also use the audio to get my message out to clients. Keep in mind, you don’t have to use video if that’s not a strength of yours.
Once you have a lead in your funnel, the first thing you should send them is this content. It helps them see that you understand them and their struggles. It will help to build rapport with them as well.
How to Leverage Case Studies
Testimonials and case studies are powerful marketing tools because they allow your clients to tell your story (because it is wrapped up in their story!). If you need help with creating testimonials that will allow you to use your clients’ stories to sell more training—check out our Quick Guide to Getting Fitness Testimonials.
After you have helped your leads out by giving them some content to solve a problem, it’s time to show them that your solution will work for them. There’s no better way than by letting some of your most successful clients tell their story. Some people use the term “third party endorsements” which is a great way to think about it. Testimonials are really just people outside of your company that are “endorsing” your services. Line up 2-3 great testimonials or case study videos to send to your leads in the few days following the previous content.
Offer your FEO
A Front End Offer (FEO) provides your prospective new clients with an opportunity to experience what you have to offer without a lot of risk. Don’t mistake low risk with cheap! Your FEO doesn’t have to be a massive discount. It can involve other factors like a time commitment. Here are a few keys to creating a great FEO:
- It should be something they can do to see some results quickly. (What is the low-hanging fruit you can grab? Habit building? Weight loss? Improved mobility?)
- It needs to have a low barrier to entry (Easy to start, and not a big commitment – financial or time)
- It should be very specific to the problem they want to solve
- It needs to be an incomplete solution (Don’t give away the farm!)
Here are a few sample FEO ideas:
- 30 Day Metabolic Boost
- Drop 2 Inches In 10 Days*
- 14 Day Fitness Jumpstart
- 7 Day Strength Builder
*Note: You have to be extremely careful using headlines with specific promises for Facebook paid advertising. You’ll want to read Facebook advertising policies closely before creating headlines. The key is making your FEO specific to your ideal client and promising a result that you can actually deliver. Don’t put so much hype in your FEO that you can never deliver on it! After you’ve given some great content and case studies to your leads it’s time to provide them an opportunity to get the results they want through your FEO. Use a 3-5 day email sequence to promote your FEO, and encourage them to sign up.
Enhance the Experience
Now that your lead has decided they will be joining your FEO, it’s time to win them over for good by providing an incredible experience. During their FEO you will want to build value in your brand and show them why it makes sense to continue working with you. Here’s a quick look at an example on-boarding process that creates value:
- Day 1– Provide them a quick start guide to make getting results easy
- Day 2– Personal phone call check-in
- Day 3– Send them a resource from your blog or content you can use to help them get more from their training program
- Day 5– Personal text or call check-in from the coach
- Day 7– Send them content to tell them what’s next & schedule a personal meeting
- Day 10– Complete progress check meeting to discuss results
Close The Deal
It’s time to make it official! After experiencing your FEO and seeing all the value that you can provide for them your leads should be ready to sign on as a client. During your progress check meeting, you need to give them an opportunity to join your membership program. Highlight the benefits of being a member, how your community will benefit them, and the results that you can provide. If you did a great job in the previous 4 steps, this should be an easy decision for them. You did all the hard work on the front end! When you’re trying to close you don’t have to use high pressure sales tactics. Act as the assistant buyer and help them find the solution that will be most likely to get them the results they want.
Here are 4 steps you can take to help close the deal:
- Explain the benefits and features of your membership
- Add on a special bonus to increase the value (nutrition coaching, tools to help them with their workouts, etc.)
- Add some urgency to the deal
- Reverse the risk (add a guarantee)
If you follow those 4 steps when making the offer it makes selling easier.
Looking for more information on how to build a complete Sales System for your Fitness Business? Check out The Ultimate Guide to Creating a Sales System for Your Gym Business.
